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Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections

By the first century A.D. Buddhism had been brought from India to China, where it became a major source of artistic inspiration, its complex pantheon of Buddhas, guardian deities, and enlightened saintlike beings, or bodhisattvas, providing a rich choice of subjects. In representing this bodhisattva, the artist has followed the traditional iconography as set down in the pattern books used by generations of Buddhist sculptors. The deity is seated in a posture of ease, with his hands in a gesture that signifies reassurance or tranquillity. The youthful face, rounded shoulders, slim torso, elaborate jewelry, and flowing robes, all executed with a crisp definition of line, are examples of the sophisticated modeling attained in the best sculpture and painting of eighth-century China. A masterpiece of bronze casting, this small statue displays particularly fine work in the intricate details of the crown, necklace, ribbons, and hair. The high topknot and undulating waves of hair show traces of a blue pigment (ultramarine), and the eyebrows, eyes, and lips may also have been painted. Felice Fischer, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 26.

* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.